The Farmers Journal team of farmer writes journalists from Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and beyond are dedicated to providing local farming news, comment and opinion across the dairy, beef & tillage sectors.

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Lots of work done in perfect early spring
Derek Robinson
The weather during early spring of 2025 was in total contrast to that seen in 2024, writes Derek Robinson.
Lots of work done in perfect early spring
Farmer Writes: they say you should never meet your heroes
23 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmer Writes: they say you should never meet your heroes
I have met one or two RTÉ TV personalities who I thought were sound fellows and they turned out to be awful.
Farmer Writes: swallows make a return
23 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmer Writes: swallows make a return
In this area, the cuckoo has traditionally returned mid-April and with impeccable timing, they flew in just before the weather turned on the 18 April.
Farmer Writes: strong beef price can only be seen as a good thing
I would like to see the people who put in the hard work of breeding and calving cows getting well paid for it, because God knows we’ve done it long enough for nothing.
21 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmer Writes: every farm gets a run of bad luck
A super spring and straightforward calving season ran into a stumbling block over the last week for Tommy Moyles' on his farm in west Cork but at least the sun was shining.
16 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmer Writes: grass is flying it
All cows are calved now, and they’re on 4kg of a breeder nut along with an allocation of 17kg DM of grass.
16 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Plans scuppered in another busy spring
Fermanagh farmer John Egerton had hoped he might be able to avoid the lambing shed this spring
16 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmers Writes: stock out and slow grass growth
As Karen McCabe gets ready put the remaining stock out to grass, she muses on the passing of time and learning on job.
9 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Cold nights keep herd part-time grazing
Castlederg dairy farmer Jessica Pollock has had cows out at grass since the second week of March.
9 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmer Writes: a brief history of fertiliser spreaders
As Gerald Potterton gets through plenty of spreading and spraying in the fine weather, he takes a look at the technological advances of fertiliser spreaders.
9 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmer Writes: hoping for a better year than 2012
James Strain reflects on some of the similarities between the start of this year and 2012, but hopes for a much different ending.
2 April 2025 Farmer Writes
Farmer Writes: old cow for the hard road and calf for the bottle
The ruthlessness of nature revealed itself at the weekend as one of the more experienced campaigners in Tommy Moyles' suckler herd put herself first.
2 April 2025 Farmer Writes